anchor me to the shore (don't let me go)
by CreepingSoul
Summary: The first time Kusakabe Tetsuya saw Sawada Tsunayoshi, he could not imagine how important he would become to him in the future.
1. history is made in pieces

**_The first time Kusakabe Tetsuya saw Sawada Tsunayoshi, he could not imagine how important he would become to him in the future._**

* * *

He was walking through the streets of Namimori with his parents. They were on their way to greet the new Hibari's of Namimori, Papa said it was very important, for it had been a long time since the Skylarks had lived here.

Papa said that the Hibari's and the Kusakabe's had a long standing (how can standing be long? Do you have to be tall? His parents were tall, maybe that was it.

Were the Hibari's tall too? He wasn't tall yet though, but it didn't matter, because if they were long standing then he would be tall too, yes, and with a childish determination he decided that was it

(in the future once Tsuna discovered the reason for his obsession with height, he would laugh long and loud, but it wouldn't matter, because to Tetsuya that was the most beautiful sight in the world)) relationship, so they must go and offer their services.

* * *

Walking through the shopping district Tetsuya heard a sound, different than the hustle and bustle of the small town citizens bargaining for wares in the market shop, or the simple sound of a large crowd, he furrowed his brow, trying to hear it again.

Seconds passed, though to the small child it felt like minutes, his parents had noticed he was no longer following them and stopped to try and see what held back their son, they cocked their heads and there they finally heard it loud and clear.

It was wailing, _a child's wailing_ , and without a second thought Tetsuya was the first to move through the mass of people, following the sound of sobbing that was becoming louder and louder as he swept through the horde of oblivious bystanders rapidly thanks to his small height.

The weeping was ringing through his ears up till he arrived at a corner, there he came to a sudden stop at the same time as the crying did.

He looked around himself trying to find the toddler, he searched with his eyes, in between the feet of the adults that paid him no mind, and he almost wished for the crying to start again until there on his right, at the entrance of a semi-hidden alley he spied a cherub no older than three, pining him in place with his gaze, they looked so pretty, his eyes, and warm, like a tender flame going around him and purring in contentedness.

The child began to smile delightedly at Tetsuya, and he found himself returning it while going closer to the youngling.

He reached a hand out to the toddler and was pleased when it was grabbed with enthusiasm, though it would be hard walking through the thong of people with a fluffy kid clinging to him like a limpet, but he would do it, for he was a Kusakabe, and Kusakabe's didn't give up.

Fortunately before he could try to brave walking through it, his parents arrived with a brunette woman in tow, and considering the sigh of relief she gave at the sight of the fluffy kid and the way the child screeched in happiness and babbled at her he could safely assume this would the child's mother.

Tetsuya was happy for the baby, even if they spent more than ten minutes trying to get him to let go (the little one had a surprisingly strong grip and a cute lil' determined pout on his face).

Once he was safely in his mothers arms and she had stopped giving her thanks and offering them tea for their help (to which they agreed to, if only for another day since they had a previous appointment already you see, did the mother- Sawada-san- seemed satisfied), they were about to take their leave when the babe grunted and pointed with his chubby fingers at Tetsuya.

"Tsu~ Tsu~~", he crooned in a soft childish voice while squirming.

Nana was delighted that her baby boy was speaking and already making friends!

Tetsuya tilted his head and seemed to be considering something, until he arrived at a conclusion.

"Ah, nice to meet you Tsu-san, my name is Kusakabe Tetsuya", his parents watched their little boy be so formal and smiled with fondness while he stretched a hand at the young child.

Tsuna seemed ecstatic and shook the hand offered to him with enthusiasm and undistinguishable babble, to which the older child nodded and hummed at every once in a while.

Finally little Tsuna seemed satisfied with his conversation and held on to his mother while letting his tiredness of having cried for so long finally come through, Nana taking that as a sign to take off for home, bowed a final time and took her leave.

The Kusakabe's watched them leave the busy market place satisfied, and once they told their son how proud they were of him, they warned him to not get too far away from them (though it was a little redundant since the Kusakabe's were as known in Namimori as the Hibari's would come to be, and no one wanted to face their wrath (it became the bane of the criminals in Namimori once the two families banded together once more)).

Once it was all said and done, they continued on their way to the new Hibari residence, they still had 30 minutes to get there in time for their scheduled meeting.

* * *

 ** _And so it was that two of the three pillars of Namimori met, and history began to be made._**


	2. and we're the puzzle they'll complete

Tetsuya didn't know how it came to this.

xxx

Yesterday he and his parents had met with the resident Hibari's to welcome them back to Namimori and reinforce the bond their families had shared for centuries. Offering their services and knowledge to help them reach their goals, varied as they were among the Skylarks.

It had all been going rather well he thought, they met the youngest Hibari, son of the Clan Head from the main family, future heir of the Clan.

His name was Kyouya, and Tetsuya thought he seemed rather... unique (more than a little bloodthirsty, but then, as his father explained that was par for the course with any Hibari).

The moment they were introduced the little ruler proclaimed him an herbivore and proceeded to chase him in an attempt to _'bite him_ _to_ _death'_.

Tetsuya managed to avoid most of the hits, and hide from the boy for an inordinate amount of time until he escaped the mansion, his feet thudded against the floor in a mad jog through the hidden streets of Namimori; if there was anything going in his favor against the grey-eyed boy it was his first-hand knowledge of the town's infrastructure.

Once he deemed it safe enough to stop he noticed he had arrived to where they had met the fluffy one earlier that day. Pudgy hands holding tight onto him and not letting go came to mind and he smiled unconsciously, the babe was cute and Tetsuya really liked babies,

(he was the preferred babysitter of his Clan, though by leaving nine year olds and younger under the care of a six year old you could see that the Kusakabe's weren't all that different from the Hibari's who started training their young at four and giving them independence at eight (the difference was that while the Hibari's were raised to _do_ and _be_ and pave their path without a care for what others may think, the Kusakabe's were raised to blend in, to lay low and observe, _to control from_ _the_ _shadows,_ which is why they worked together so beautifully.

One wreaked havoc on the masses and the other manipulated them in the aftermath to suit their needs)

So lost was he in memories of warm orange eyes that he failed to notice the two hulking figures closing in on him until one tripped over an overturned trash can and started cursing like a sailor, immediately turning around he took a defensive stance and measured up his opponents.

They looked to be around thirteen, and once he got a proper look at them he recognized them immediately.

One of his older cousins had recently presented evidence against two high school seniors who had been dealing drugs, his Father had allowed him to go with him to the courtroom. These two had been there, scowling in the sidelines, Father said they were the older kids' brothers, apparently they were being used as mules and distributors, since no one really suspected the younger ones.

At the end of the day the seniors were deemed guilty and were to be taken to a Center for Troubled Teens, while the brothers were let go with parole and social work (Mother said that meant they had to report each week to the Police Department and had to do chores around town).

The teens had been angry and frustrated, so when they spied the little cousin of the bastard that tattled on them they decided to give him a little roughing up, that would teach the bastard to keep his mouth closed.

It would have all gone perfectly well to their plan had it not been a kid from the Kusakabe Clan (they had forgotten there was a reason why no one in town messed around with them).

xxx

A few yelps, screams and twenty minutes later had Tetsuya tying the teens up with his shoelaces, it wasn't the best material but it would have to so for now, both youths were unconscious and were now marred with bruises courtesy of the Kubotan now tucked safely back in his pants (no Kusakabe ever left home without at least three weapons on his self from the age of five, though they grew gradually more lethal with each passing year).

Finally done with his business Tetsuya turned around to go look for a police officer when he noticed a shadow fall upon him, he looked up to come face to face with Kyouya.

The two were caught in a staring match until finally the young Skylark seemed to **_Hn_** with satisfaction and proclaimed him his right-hand man (it was more in the lines of _'you'll be sufficient in the_ _herding and management_ _of_ _the_ _herbivores'_ but it was practically the same thing), there was something inside of Tetsuya that told him he wouldn't regret it, a rumbling of flashes and thunder deep in his soul, somehow he knew that that moment would be important for them.

He accepted and Hibari Kyouya became Kyo-san.

xxx

Once the 'herbivores' as Kyo-san referred to them were dealt with they went back to the Hibari Mansion, they briefed their parents on their activities and some way or another the topic turned to their encounter with the fluffy Tsu-san of earlier on the day.

His mother made an offer to the Hibari's of accompanying them when they went to visit the next day, since they didn't know anybody in town, and the Skylarks were interested enough and bored enough to accept.

And so it was that the next day found them knocking on the quaint house Sawada-san lived in.

Late at night Tetsuya had formed various plans to deal with Tsu-san, he would tire him out so that by the end of the visit there was little fuss at his leaving and hopefully Kyo-san would be less inclined to bite him to death for the noise (he had learnt that Kyo-san hated crowding and 'herbivorous behaviors' to which he was sure making noise was a big part of).

Though from the moment Kyo-san put his sights on Tsu-san his plan became void.

While the adults were chattering and drinking tea in the dining room, Kyo-san had proceeded to lift the fluffy haired boy and kept him clutched to his chest from the moment he came into view.

Tsuna didn't have any complaints, Tsuna loved cuddles, and the boy made him feel relaxed, like when he went with Mama to the park to look at the clouds and the Sakura trees, he was also warm, not the same as the nice boy but a good warm all the same. Besides the nice boy had come like he promised, and Tsuna was getting lots of cuddles!

Tetsuya was quite happy, he really wanted for Tsu-san and Kyo-san to get along, and seeing as how the Skylark would not let go of the babe for even a second he knew he had nothing to worry about.

xxx

Soon it was time for them to go, Hibari Yumiko and her husband were quite surprised to see their little Kyo-chan still in the house, and more so when they noticed that no one had been bitten to death, they were quite curious as to why that was, though of course once they caught sight of little fluffy Tsuna in his arms everything became clearer.

Their sweet little Carnivore, _starting his own pack._

Tetsuya saw his Parents and the Hibari's watching Kyo-san and then turn to give him a thumbs up, he really had no clue as to what was going on, but he felt that smiling back was the safest option considering the semi maniac look their eyes sported.

He was about to ask Kyo-san if perhaps he had a clue as to what their parents were on about when he saw him head straight to Sawada-san with determined steps.

Yumiko was watching the scene with narrowed eyes, she knew what was coming, how important it was, and she would not miss it for the world.

Kyouya stood in front of the house-wife herbivore, and uttered the words that would change everything.

 **"I Hibari Kyouya, heir of the Hibari Clan, petition you for the custody of Sawada Tsunayoshi,**

 **to be kept under my wing, for his enemies to become mine, his sorrows mine to avenge,**

 **his life my responsibility and his happiness my goal,**

 **for a pack thrives together and I have embraced him into my own,**

 **from now until forever".**

The silence was ringing through the room.

Tetsuya didn't know what was going on.

But, _it sounded right_ , _it_ _ **felt**_ _right_ , Tsuna **belonged** with them.

He looked at Sawada-san, she didn't seem much concerned with a minor practically (and possibly soon literally) holding custody of her baby boy.

* * *

(For a moment he saw what seemed like relief flash through her eyes, **but he must have seen wrong** , he put it out of his mind).

* * *

He marched up to Nana-san and bowed down 90 degrees, he heard his mother gasp but paid it no mind, _he_ _ **needed**_ _to do this_ ,

"Sawada-san please don't worry about Tsu-san, I promise to take care of him with everything I have, I'll ensure his happiness!"

(Years later Tetsuya would remember this moment and blush uncontrollably at how much of a marriage proposal it sounded like, specially with his mother taking extreme delight in teasing him every chance she got)

Once he stood up straight again he peered at everyone, the adults were still in shock, Kyo-san was standing straight with what seemed like a glint of pride on his eyes, Tsu-san was smiling gummily at him, like he could understand and was cheering him on, it gave him spirits, but the most important one was Sawada-san.

Her hand was covering her mouth but there were crinkles in her eyes from how hard she was smiling, unshed tears rested in her eyes, and Tetsuya never knew what to do with crying people, fortunately Sawada-san made the first move.

She hugged him tight, her shoulders shaking slightly, but once she let go of him her emotions were once again under control.

Her gaze pierced his, _and in a quiet voice just for them both, like an oath, like a promise, like a threat and an inevitability come to pass all at once_ , she whispered "I know you will".

She gazed back at Kyouya and with a whimsical voice opposite of the seriousness in her eyes she granted his boon.

xxx

Tetsuya didn't know how it came to this, but he knew he wouldn't change a thing.

* * *

 _On this day the three pillars of Namimori became pack,_ _ **and the world trembled.**_


End file.
